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> Yeah...well most kids in the age group you mentioned
> can't TALK either, at
> least without saying a hundred times "You know" or
> "You know what I mean?"
> or ""You know what I'm saying?"
Agreed. I too used to teach college composition, as
well as ESL, to all types of learners.
I noticed all the problems you mention. In their
writing, you see nuances of
'pop' culture eveywhere. Almost like advertisements -
the things they write. They also tend to love the
narration style. Try to get them to use
exemplifcation, description, classification,
comparison/contrast - forget it. They only know how to
tell stories - and simple ones at that.
It think it is because of TV - and the media in
general. They are not accustomed to writing - just
viewing - seeing episodes of a series, etc.
A friend of mine told me about his son's girlfriend -
she is about 17. He had me laughing hysterically
telling me about how she re-told a recent conversation
she had had with her mother and some friends. When she
re-stated what other people had said, she would
constantly use the word "go." Example:
"So I go, 'What do you mean?' So he goes, 'Well, blah
blah blah.' And then I go, 'Blah blah blah' and then
my other friend goes, 'blah blah blah.' Then my mother
goes, 'blah blah blah.'
My friend finally exclaimed, "Doesn't anyone SAY
anything in your world? Or do they all just GO!!?"
After one statement, he was tempted to ask her, "Where
did he go?'
And so it went. (No pun intended.)
Mario
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